Title Basketball's Bounce

Problem Scenario

This would benefit to the community because if you were going to play basketball make sure that the basketball is warm so it will bounce better and higher

Broad Question: How does someone make a basketball bounce higher

Specific Question: Does the temperature effect the height of a basketballs bounce

Hypothesis: The warmer the basketball the higher the bounce

Hypothesis Graph

Variables

Independent Variable: Tempature

Dependent Variable: Height of basketballs bounce

Variables That Need To Be Controlled: Measurement, Surface

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Variables- Things that can effect the experiment if changed

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Temperature- the amount of heat or freezing that is in a solid, liquid, or gas

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General Plan: What I plan on doing it putting the basketball near a warm source and a cold source and see which temperature helps it bounce higher. I will measure the bounce by centimeters and will have a friend drop the basketball from a certain place and i will figure out the measurement as best as I can.

Potential Problems And Solutions

One problem is if the ball goes flat. I will solve the problem by blowing it up with an air pump.
Another is if it gets a hole in it i will get a new ball.
Another problem is if i miss the measurement by accident then i will re dew it

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

I could drop the basketball on someone
The basketball could break a window
the basketball could hit the fire alarm

Experimental Design

What is your experimental unit?

The base unit of this experiment was a basketball

Number Of Trials:

The number of trials I did for each temperature was 4 times

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

This is the number of different treatments I used was 3 room temperature, fridge, freezer

Number of Observations

The amount of trials I will do toatal is 12

When data will be collected

The date I did my experiment was 3/2/13 - 3/4/13

Where will data be collected?

I will be collecting this data out in the hall way right outside of Mr. Littlefields classroom

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Basketball	1	home	0.00
room	1	school	0.00
refrigerator	1	school	0.00
freezer	1	school	0.00
Alex Butts	1	school	0.00

Detailed Procedure

1. I will first get a basketball and keep it in a room with room tempetare over night. The next day I will drop the basketball of the stairs and measure the bounce
2. The next day I will put the basketball in the refrigerator and wait over night. The next day I will drop the basketball of the stairs and measure the bounce
3. The next day I will put the basketball in the freezer and wait over night. The next day I will drop the basketball of the stairs and measure the bounce
4. Then I will record all the information and start on my presentation

Diagram

Photo List

Time Line

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Graphs

Photos

Results

The results are room tempature has a better bounce than fridge or freezer

Conclusion

So in conclusing if the warmer the ball the better the bounce so if you are going to play basketball make shure that you're basketball is warm

Discussion

The data showed a pattern, Every time the ball got colder the bounce would decrease. The independent variable and the dependent variable have a very strong relationship the temperature dramatically effected the height of the bounce. My question that I asked before I started this was does the temperature effect a baskeballs bounce my answer was yes the colder it is the less height of the bounce there is. This was a fairly easy experiment because i did not encounter any errors or problems. This experiment could be improved if I was able to make the ball certain tempetaures not room tempertaures fridge or freezer.

Background Research

Unlike many other types of sport balls, a basketball is completely hollow inside its outer covering. To fill this hollow space and provide a spherical shape, basketballs are pumped with air. But this air does more than just fill the space; it is entirely responsible for the basketball's bounce. When a basketball hits the ground, its outer surface and inner air compress slightly. As the ball leaves the ground, the compressed air acts like a spring and bounces the ball upward. The basketball's bounce relies almost entirely on the air pressure inside the ball. If the ball does not have enough air, the air will not compress enough to produce sufficient energy for a bounce
References
http://www.livestrong.com/article/403671-how-does-cold-temperature-affect-the-bounce-height-of-a-basketball/#ixzz2OB46ENw

Abstract

My hypothesis states that the warmer the basketball the higher the bounce. To do this experiment I had to go out in the hall of Mr Littlefield's class room and drop a basketball that was room temperature off of the team 2 stairs. I did the same thing the next 2 times except once it was refrigerated and then put into a freezer. I dropped the ball 4 times every temperature. I then made a graph of my own that has all the data of my experiment. My conclusion states that the temperature does effect the bounce of the ball